Flax Report.

Manawatu Herald, 2 August 1898, Page 3

Flax Report.

THE GOVERNMENT REFUSE TO OBTAIN INFORMATION. Mr J. Stevens yesterday asked the Minister for Agriculture whether he would obtain, through the Agent - General's Office in London, a detailed fortnightly report of the Home prices of wool, hides, skins, tallow, frozen meat, grain, grass seed, flax, and fruit, and have the same published through the press of the colony for the purpose of giving to producers in New Zealand full reliable inforrna tion respecting the market value of products. He said it. had been • brought to his notice that the settlers throughout the colony as a rule received little or no information as to. the outside market value of their products. There were various j Government publications in New Zealand, but in none of them was ' the slightest information respecting the Home value of ' the colony's products. The Minister of Lands said there would be very considerable difficulty in doing what was wanted by Mr Stevens. In the first) place, jt wruld be necessary to get correct in io: mation. It would require the ~ appointment of an expert at Home '■■ to keep in daily touch with comi&ercial matters. He was afraid that the colony's Agent-General, white everything that was good and necessary in an Agent-General, had not sufficient commercial knowledge or *rao to ascertain . the prices brought by all the produce of the colony every day, and if they employed an expert and his information ever proved incorrect, the GovernL ment would be charged with the of having misled the of the' colony. He thought that they would have to to rely on the information through the commercial °f press of the colony. declares this answer to unsatisfactory, and ventilate the matter at a of the session. — Post.